Essential oils are extracts from the naturally occurring, aromatic substances found within plants. Through a process of distillation, extraction or expression, the natural essences are obtained from such parts as the fruit, flower, bud, leaf, bark, wood, or root of plants. Within an essential oil is a network of organic chemical compounds sought after for their therapeutic properties. Applied widely throughout the field of holistic medicine and aromatherapy, and having been used as such for centuries, essential oils are experiencing a renaissance within the landscape of health and wellness as a natural, bioavailable alternative to the otherwise synthetically engineered drugs produced by the pharmaceutical industry.
Essential oils are complex mixtures of different organic molecules—terpenes, alcohols, esters, aldehydes, ketones and phenols. Synthetic oils are usually made from one or more of the constituents predominant within a particular essential oil. Menthol, for example, often substitutes for mint and eucalyptol for eucalyptus. However, there are sound reasons for believing that it is the interaction between each and every component that gives an essential oil its particular character and unique therapeutic properties.
Essential oils possess numerous properties, which make them useful for treating many of our most common health and beauty troubles. Essential oils can be useful in the treatment of anxiety and depression. For example, ylang-ylang, citrus oils, jasmine, basil, patchouli and peppermint may be used to treat general depression. Geranium, lavender and bergamot can treat fear and anxiety. Peppermint, rose and carnation improve concentration and eliminate lethargy. Sprayed into the air, these oils also have immediate and long-lasting effects.
The reasons for these reactions are as yet unclear, but it is known that odor molecules are perceived by thousands of tiny nerve cells in the nose and that each of these nerves is connected to that part of the brain which is concerned with emotional drives, creativity and sexual behavior. This could explain why certain perfumes make us feel happy, why some essences, like jasmine and rose, have a reputation for being an aphrodisiac and why unpleasant smells, like petrol fumes, can induce depression.
Essential oils are mainly used in two ways—by inhalation or through topical application. Through inhalation, essential oils stimulate the olfactory system, a network of nerve receptors located inside the nasal passage which carry impulses to the brain, impulses which are then translated to produce our sense of smell, and produce an emotional response. Essential oils are widely used in this application for their uplifting, calming, comforting or inspiring effects upon the balance of our emotional state. Through the topical application of essential oils, such as massage, the therapeutic properties of essential oils are absorbed through the skin and distributed throughout the body. As the molecules of an essential oil are both miniscule and composed of an organic chemistry harmonious with the human body, essential oils are easily absorbed through the skin, and their healing properties are readily distributed to the major ten systems of the human body. In a topical application, the benefits of inhalation are a byproduct, and it is regarded as a holistic approach in which there are both physiological and emotional benefits to mind and body.
Herbs and spices, on the other hand, are conventionally used as flavorings in, for example, Indian or Thai dishes. Herbs and spices are usually the dried, aromatic parts of plants, generally the seeds, berries, roots, pods and sometimes leaves and flesh, which mainly, but not invariably, grow in hot countries.
The medicinal uses of herbs and spices in the past were often indistinguishable from their culinary uses, particularly so in medieval times, when apothecaries prescribed herbs and spices not merely for digestive problems, but for all types of ailments. Hot spices, such as pepper, were regarded as an appetite stimulant and a digestive aid. Asafoetida, now known only in Indian cookery, was used by the Romans as a healing ointment, an antidote for snake bites, and a cure for gout, cramps, pleurisy, and tetanus. Spiced salts were made with ginger, pepper, cumin, thyme and celery seed, which were good for the digestion, promoting regularity and preventing all sorts of illnesses, plagues and chills. Citron seeds were given to pregnant women to relieve nausea. Roman and medieval writers also believed that fennel helped to promote and restore good vision, and it was at one time a cure for obesity.
Because of the great utility of both essential oils and herbs and spices, many have discovered new varieties and formulated specific compositions. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,103,241 discloses the essential oil of the shrub kunzea ambigua and two various therapeutic uses of the essential oil. The essential oil is adapted for treatment of ailments of the human body, and is applied topically to relieve pain, minimize bruising and to assist in healing, and may be used either pure or in a carrier.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,280,751 discloses medicinal and cosmetic compositions comprising essential oils in combination with herbs and/or spices. The compositions may be used orally or topically. The compositions may comprise one or more essential oils selected from bergamot, chamomile german, chamomile moroccan, chamomile roman, cinnamon zeylanicum, clove buds, eucalyptus globulus, frankincense, fennel, hyssop, juniper, lemon grass, mountain savoury, niaouli, red thyme, rosemary, rose geranium, tagetes and ylang-ylang. The compositions may also comprise one or more spices selected from asapoetidia, coconut, coriander, fenugreek and horseradish.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,623,767 discloses a composition comprising honey, at least one essential oil and/or at least one essential oil derivative. It also discloses the different uses of the composition in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,465,019 discloses a spice composition comprising 1 to 30% by weight of garlic, 10 to 50% by weight of onion, 0.2 to 10% by weight of ginger, 5 to 40% by weight of jujube, and 10 to 50% by weight of citrus peel or an extract thereof or 1 to 20% by weight of naringin or hesperidin.
Although the different essential oils and herbs and spices can be combined to yield a pleasing smell or flavor, the mechanism by which oils or herbs and spices should be combined is not well understood. Much of the knowledge is only empirical in nature. Unfortunately, there are no convenient and systematic tools to determine which essential oils or herbs and spices should be combined to be both olfactorily and gustatorily pleasing. Thus, there is a great need for an easy to use tool useful to both those skilled in the art as well as the layperson in determining which ingredients should be combined to obtain a particular smell and/or flavor. Preferably, such a tool would provide a simple systematic approach in determining the combination of different oils or herbs and spices in order to achieve different goals and more preferably, the tool would be in the form of a visual table for quick reference. The present invention satisfies such a need.